Titan Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 14,723 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Titan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000. Paychex accounts for 1.5% of Titan Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,626,000 after acquiring an additional 19,185 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Paychex by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 63,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,069,000 after acquiring an additional 16,812 shares during the period. LBP AM SA increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PAYX opened at $98.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $152.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.65.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.19.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.